Meriggiare
Meaning: To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
Language: Italian
Literally: to rest at midday in the shade
Category: Nature
Origin: Italian; famously the first word of a 1916 poem by Eugenio Montale.
More untranslatable words — Nature
- Gökotta — Rising at first light for no reason but to go outside and hear the birds sing.
- Komorebi — The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Wabi-sabi — Finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the worn or incomplete.
- Mångata — The shimmering, road-like reflection the moon casts across water.
- Terroir — The unique character that a place — its soil, climate and tradition — gives to a wine or…
- Friluftsliv — The philosophy and practice of spending time outdoors — not as exercise or sport, but as…
More Italian untranslatable words
- Magari — One word doing the work of 'if only', 'I wish', 'perhaps' and 'you bet' — the tone decide…
- Sprezzatura — The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…
- Dietrologia — The conviction that the official account is never the real one — that some hidden motive…
- Attaccabottoni — The person who corners you and holds you in an endless, tedious story you cannot politely…
- Menefreghista — Someone who has made not caring into an entire stance — indifference as a way of life.
- Apericena — The evening drink whose accompanying buffet is generous enough to replace dinner altogeth…
From our false friends
- Bravo — Actually means 'good, skilled, well-behaved'. For brave, say coraggioso.
- Camera — Actually means 'room'. A camera (device) is una macchina fotografica.
- Pretendere — Actually means 'to demand' or 'to expect'. Pretende troppo = He demands too much.